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Paper short abstract

This paper addresses the vision for smart and flexible electricity use in the context of rural and vulnerable electricity consumers. We address how the vulnerability and resilience of rural electricity consumers shape flexible electricity use or the prospects for adopting smart energy technologies.

Paper long abstract

The digitalized electricity grid powered by more sustainable energy sources has been under construction for the past decades. This work is coordinated by the vision of smart electricity grids where the coordination of electric loads is expected to be increasingly delegated to automated technologies. This applies also to households who are expected to consume electricity flexibly by adjusting the timing of their electricity use and by employing technologies with energy management functionality.

However, alike many other sustainability visions, the vision of smart grids and the uptake of home automation technologies may not fit into the logics of everyday life and consumption in rural areas. In this paper, we address the multiplicity of households’ encounters with flexible electricity use by using data of over 70 interviews with Finnish households, most of whom experience different degrees of energy vulnerability. The paper discusses both how vulnerability and resilience of rural electricity consumers shapes what flexible electricity use entails, and how rural and vulnerable electricity users view the uptake of energy automation or electricity contracts with variable price.

The paper proposes that there is a need to broaden the assumptions of households’ encounters with flexible consumption. Importantly, our article addresses the interlinkages between flexibility and vulnerability and calls for more work to address the increasing energy vulnerability of low-income households in rural areas both policy-wise and academically.